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Harmonica Notes Chart 10-Hole C Diatonic (Blow & Draw)
Richter tuning, from 1820s Germany, is a deliberate compromise: the bottom of the harp is arranged for chords, the middle for melody. All ten blow notes form a C major chord; draw holes 1–4 give a G chord. The price is that F and A are missing from the low octave and B from the top — the complete C scale exists only in holes 4–7. Bending, which lowers the higher-pitched reed in each hole, recovers every missing note and powers the blues vocabulary.
Tap or click any hole to see its blow, draw, and bends.
The note layout
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blow ↑ | C4 | E4 | G4 | C5 | E5 | G5 | C6 | E6 | G6 | C7 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Draw ↓ | D4 | G4 | B4 | D5 | F5 | A5 | B5 | D6 | F6 | A6 |
Every bend, hole by hole
| Hole | From (draw) | Bends |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | D4 | -1′ = C♯4/D♭4 |
| 2 | G4 | -2′ = F♯4/G♭4 · -2″ = F4 |
| 3 | B4 | -3′ = B♭4 · -3″ = A4 · -3‴ = A♭4 |
| 4 | D5 | -4′ = C♯5/D♭5 |
| 5 | F5 | quarter-tone dip only — no new note |
| 6 | A5 | -6′ = G♯5/A♭5 |
| Hole | From (blow) | Bends |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | E6 | 8′ = E♭6/D♯6 |
| 9 | G6 | 9′ = F♯6/G♭6 |
| 10 | C7 | 10′ = B6 · 10″ = B♭6 (advanced — two distinct bends) |
Hole 7 (blow C6, draw B5) has no semitone gap in either direction — a micro-dip only. No overblows are claimed anywhere in this chart.
What Richter leaves out — and how to get it back
| Note | Recovered by |
|---|---|
| F4 | -2″ (hole 2 draw, whole-step bend) |
| A4 | -3″ (hole 3 draw, whole-step bend) |
| B6 | 10′ (hole 10 blow, half-step bend) |
Built-in chords: blow any holes = C major · draw 1–4 = G major · draw 4–6 = D minor.
This is the same Richter map behind the Harp Map and bend notation inside Harmonica Studio, cross-checked against standard C-diatonic references.
How to read this chart
- Numbers 1–10 run left (low) to right (high). Blow = exhale, draw = inhale.
- Bend notation: each apostrophe is a half step — -3′ means hole 3 draw bent one semitone (B♭), -3″ two semitones (A), -3‴ three (A♭). 10′ and 10″ are blow bends.
- You can only bend toward the lower reed in the hole: draw bends live in holes 1–6 (draw is higher), blow bends in holes 8–10 (blow is higher).
- Holes 5 and 7 have no semitone gap to bend into — only an expressive quarter-tone dip.
Questions
Why is my C harp “missing” F and A in the low octave?
It's intentional. Richter tuning sacrifices two low melody notes so draw holes 1–4 form a G chord under the all-blow C chord — that's what makes chugging rhythm and train patterns possible. Recover F with the hole-2 whole-step draw bend and A with the hole-3 whole-step draw bend.
Which bends should a beginner learn first?
Hole 4 draw (one clean half step to C♯) is the classic starter — a small, forgiving bend in the melody octave. Then hole 1 draw, then the hole-2 and hole-3 multi-stage bends. Blow bends (8–10) come later; they need a lighter touch on smaller reeds.
Keep exploring
Put the chart to work
The app listens — and grades every one of these notes.
Harmonica Studio notates hole, breath, and bend for every song, maps what your C harp can reach, and hears whether your bends land in tune — free on iPhone, no ads, no account.
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